Secretary of Budget and Management Florencio Abad expressed his confidence on the timely passage of the proposed P2.268-trillion 2014 National Budget—aimed at sustaining the country’s fiscal momentum and promote inclusive growth—as deliberations on the government’s expenditure program kick off in the Lower House on August 7, 2013.
“We look forward to discussing the finer details of the 2014 National Budget with our colleagues in Congress, and are likewise confident that the Lower House will pass the expenditure program within schedule, as instructed by President Aquino. The timely passage of the Budget will be critical in ensuring the swift implementation of the Administration’s priority programs and projects next year, especially as we intensify our efforts at enhancing the expenditure process to bring rapid, inclusive, and sustainable growth to the country,” Abad said.
The Budget Hearings of the House Committee on Appropriations will cover the period from August 7 to September 9, 2013, starting with a budget briefing led by the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC). The DBCC is composed of the DBM, National and Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Finance (DoF), and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The Budget chief said that the DBM expects the proposed expenditure plan to undergo careful scrutiny during deliberations, particularly with respect to the Administration’s budgetary support for anticorruption and good governance, social development, economic services, national peace and security, and climate change response and mitigation.
The Committee on Appropriations is also expected to pay particular attention to the new Performance-Informed Budget structure that defines the government’s spending program for 2014.
“We designed the 2014 budget so that it is decidedly output- and outcome-based. We’re no longer looking at a budget document that merely lists allocations and budgets; instead, we’re looking at an expenditure program that very clearly shows the country’s own development goals, as well as the Administration’s strategy for achieving those same objectives.
“We trust that the new face of the National Budget will encourage efficient and fruitful discussions during budget deliberations, in addition to helping our lawmakers approve President Aquino’s spending program in record time,” Abad said. (DBM)
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